Catzlover’s Cooking

Frantic Friday!

No Favorite Things post this week – I was just not inspired.

This week has put me a bit off-kilter. My teacherman husband has been putting in long days getting ready for the new school year. My daughter’s summer camps ended last week and she has been home all this week with no routine. As a mom of a special needs daughter, I am aware of the importance of routine for her. But, I think moms rely on routine just as much as the kiddies. At least I feel more together when things are going along some sort of schedule. I am honestly looking forward to school starting next week!

A hornworm ate one of my pepper plants on my rooftop garden. (Yes, I know that hornworms are moth babies and a moth can fly up to a roof, but still!)

And I have been bombarded with blog spam.

The latter is partially my own fault. I downloaded a WordPress spam filter and have yet to install it. Spam (not the canned sort!) is such a puzzle. I guess enough of it gets through the various filters elsewhere to make it worth while, but I moderate my comments and all the comment spam never sees the light of day. I wonder why folks bother at all. Goal for the next week: install the spam filter! (I also saw that I could change my preferences so that comments are closed after two weeks – that should help, too!)

Something else that amazed and amused me this week was the news report stating that a 18% of the persons polled recently thought that President Obama was a Muslim. It shouldn’t completely surprise me that so many people in the country are misinformed, but it still does. I guess the scoop is that the rumor is spread by anti-Obama folks. Bu,t I would like to think that it shouldn’t matter one whit what religion is practiced by an elected official. Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Agnostic, or Atheist – I don’t care! Is he or she doing a good job at representing me? That is what should matter most, I think.

I hope you have some cheese and crackers (a nice smoked gouda and some multi-grain saltines) to go with all my whine!

Sandra

I watch PBS. I love PBS.

I sit glued to the television during the Jane Austen Sunday nights – sending my husband off to find science fiction on Hulu. (He insists that not even Phil Donahue watches Jane Austen.)

I watch NOVA. I watch NOW and Bill Moyers. I watch the Saturday cooking shows. I am on a first name basis with Norm and Kevin and Tom and Roger and Richard. Whenever I see happy clouds, I like to think that Bob is still painting.

Unfortunately, when PBS pledge time rolls around I am checking out my DVD collection.

I am not the target audience for Pledge Time. I do not go gaga for Larence Welk or Pat Boone. I do not do Do-Wop. My memories of Ed Sullivan are vague at best.

Would PBS be able to make money if they had regular programming with pledge breaks? How about a night pledge night for folks 50 and under? Or a promise never to play Do-Wop again if everyone donated?

I don’t know all the numbers and all the pledge stats. I do know that eventually the current target audience for pledge time will be no more and then, maybe, I will be part of the target audience.

In the mean time, I think I will dig out my Sense and Sensibility DVD.

Sandra

My husband has given up watching the news.

I admit, we can be real news junkies. Especially during an election year.

But my husband has decided he has had enough. He is worn out with local news that occupies so much time on the air that it is required to fill the space with stories about car crashes in Oklahoma (we live in Virginia) and contradictory health features. He is tired of Mr. Food telling him about how there are different varieties of apples or cheese. He is weary of the National News that spends more time self-promoting the network than it does doing any sort of substantive reporting. He has even abandoned NPR with its features that got his blood boiling on the car ride home every evening.

My husband has made some significant changes. He listens to books on tape in the car. He reads or does a crossword puzzle during the evening news. We have taken to watching Star Trek TNG reruns during the News Hour.

He has slowly been winning me over to his point of view. Do we really need to know everything that happens 24/7? Not really. Are we being informed by interviews and news segments that cater to persons with the shortest attention span? Maybe not.

However, I refuse to give up Meet The Press. I require a good Sunday Morning rant!

Sandra

A Republican won Ted Kennedy’s former Senate seat in Massachusetts.

I live in Central Virginia and I think I am feeling the gentle vibrations of Teddy spinning in his grave.

The Washington pundits on the Sunday politico shows spent some time explaining how the Republicans were going to win elections because we are all upset about Health Care Reform and the bank bailouts. Especially bank bailouts.

So folks want to vote back in the political party that set up the circumstances under which the banks went into their unregulated tailspin. Does that make any sense?

And will the party of big business really create jobs? Maybe so. If you enjoy working at minimum wage.

And what about the Health Care Reform bill? Will it be trashed? (I hope they recycle all that paper!)

My husband told be about a book he read recently in which America divided into two sections. One was for conservatives and the other for the progressives. Some days I think I am ready!

Sandra

It has always fascinated me how Americans can step up and do good things in the face of misfortune or disaster.

If a neighbor needs an transplant operation, the neighborhood – be it city or county or parish – will join forces and fundraise and make the operation a reality.

When the Twin Towers came down, people sent in thousands of dollars to help make the lives of survivors a bit better.

When Katrina caused devastation, there were fundraising efforts and any number of volunteers to help New Orleans rebuild.

And now that Haiti has been leveled by an earthquake, people are again joining forces, raising millions of dollars, and sending in donations of tangible goods.

Americans excel at coordinating relief efforts.

But at the same time, we can’t seem to make sure every person makes a living wage and reduce the number of working poor. We can’t guarantee affordable health care for everyone without having hissy fits. We don’t want to invest in infrastructure projects to avoid disasters. We don’t welcome refugees from impoverished countries. And we don’t want to give up our SUVs in order to have cleaner air and possibly avoid the future crises of climate change.

What a contradiction! What a puzzle!

Sandra

My local Congressional House representative voted “yes” on the Health Care Reform bill. Soon thereafter, there were people out in front of his office both supporting and condemning his vote.

One man had a sign that said “No Income Tax”.

What!?!

Okay, if you want to protest where your taxes go, that makes sense. I have often thought it would be convenient to have check boxes on your IRS forms where you could opt-in – take my tax money and pay for Medicaid – or opt-out – please don’t use my tax money for war.

But to want to pay no income taxes in this day and age is just plain foolish.

What this gentleman apparently wants is no public schools, no law enforcement, no public roads, no food regulations, etc. According to him the private sector will take care of everything – well, we saw how well the banks did that when left to their own devices.

I vote for paying taxes so that I know when my spinach is safe to eat.

There is nothing nicer than a fresh spinach salad with fake bacon bits, sharp cheddar cheese, and honey mustard dressing. Add some tangy apple chunks and some walnuts for extra yummy.

Or you can use that safe spinach to make my Spinach Pesto Salad.

(See, I can mix politics and cooking!)

Sandra